Making waves: Uses of real-time, hyperlocal flood sensor data for emergency management, resiliency planning, and flood impact mitigation.

Flooding is expected to increase due to intensification of extreme precipitation events, sea-level rise, and urbanization. Low-cost water level sensors have the ability to fill a critical data gap on the presence, depth, and duration of street-level floods by measuring flood profiles (i.e., flood stage hydrographs) in real-time with a time interval on the order of minutes. Hyperlocal flood data collected by low-cost sensors have many use cases for a variety of stakeholders including municipal agencies, community members, and researchers. Here we outline examples of potential uses of flood sensor data before, during, and after flood events, based on dialog with stakeholders in New York City. These uses include inputs to predictive flood models, generation of real-time flood alerts for community members and emergency response teams, storm recovery assistance and cataloging of storm impacts, and informing infrastructure design and investment for long-term flood resilience project planning.

The presence and significance of microplastics in surface water in the Lower Hudson River Estuary 2016-2019: A research note.

Microplastics are a major environmental issue of concern. Since 2016, Hudson River Park has collaborated with Brooklyn College to survey microplastics within Park waters between Chambers and 59th Streets in Manhattan. It was hypothesized that microplastic concentration is influenced by proximity to combined sewer overflow (CSO) points, precipitation, and tides. Samples were collected at channel and near-shore locations at downtown and midtown sites. Microplastics were analyzed following NOAA methods via stereo microscope. Concentrations in 2018 were higher than in 2016, 2017 and 2019 ((ANOVA F (1,70) = 5.2, p < 0.03*; post hoc Tukey test p < 0.009*)), and near-shore sites tended to exhibit higher concentrations than channel sites (ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey: p < 0.03*). Microfibers were not fully accounted for and fragments were highly prevalent in all samples (~70%). Additional data will improve the understanding of the presence of microplastics in the Lower Hudson and elucidate the effects of wet weather on plastic concentrations.